[junaid12345678]

I once fell down from my bicycle about ten years back and got rewarded with bleeding elbows. Suddenly out of nowhere some autowallas came out to my rescue and one of them grabbed my hand and applied some red brake fluid and it stinged like hell. But bleeding stopped at the moment and my wound healed the next day itself. Don't have further knowledge in this specialized treatment

[enfield_500]

Originally Posted by Jomz

It brakes the blood from leaving the body.

I have to admit, I laughed out loud at this.

Reading all the replies of you guys having tried this, I don't feel so much of an idiot anymore. Haha. But, I understand that this practice has several negative effects. As some others have said, I only followed this advice because it was & in the morning, and I was on the highway, without access to chemists or a doc.

[Warwithwheels]

Another interesting practice among the mechanic/ driver folks is to apply distilled water on wounds or cuts. I really don't know what effect it has on the affected area. But in all probability i guess, its a better & safer option than using engine/ clutch/ brake fluids on the affected areas.

[lapsi]

Do you guys know that used transformer oil is excellent for pain relief? You just have to apply the oil. Do not rub, massage or heat it.

I had heard about this years ago. Someone has shared their experience online some time back and here is a link to their post.

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Another interesting practice among the mechanic/ driver folks is to apply distilled water on wounds or cuts. I really don't know what effect it has on the affected area.

I would guess it cleans the wounds

If you think about it, all clean water is distilled water.

Cheers!

[Gansan]

When I had a bad fall from my bike after running over a dog in Bangalore, I had very bad abrasions on both the knees. An autoriksha fellow stopped to help, and applied some brake fluid on the wounds. It did arrest the bleeding. Anyway I rode on to a hospital near my home where they cleaned and dressed the wounds.

I don't think it is a good idea though. If contact with engine oil is bad, brake fluid can't be any different.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

The reason why mechanics put brake oil on a wound is because it is a fantastic styptic agent (stops the bleeding).

Had a deep cut on my thumb at a mechanics garage, it was pouring blood incessantly. The brake fluid reserviour cap was unscrewed and my thumb was dunked in. The bleeding stopped almost immediately!

@SS - Do also share in detail what you had mentioned about the DOT 5.1 fluids containing harmful silicone...

Thanks,
R

[saket77]

Fellas, please keep clear of this practice. I am no medico but like all others here, I am concerned with health of all around me including my T-BHP family.

Foreign & un-friendly substances like these can cause damage to our DNAs which in turn can cause cancer; like the way adulterated foods can, which is a proven fact. Here, the danger is even more as in this case, the substance is absorbed directly in the bloodstream.

Please refrain from doing this in future. There are plenty of medications available for healing, or clotting the bleeding. Take those which are safer & more importantly tested for the purpose. Even if that means waiting for some time, please wait. We also have first aid kits in both 2 & 4 wheelers, use them. Just like regular maintenance of your vehicle, keep your first aid kit up-to-date and replace expired medicines, tablets, anti-septic solutions with new ones time to time.

Brake fluids do save lives, but in other ways!

Thanks,
Saket

[lsp]

I've seen this happen. A mechanic got cut on a finger and poured some oil on it and then tore a sliver from the greasy rag he was carrying and tied up the wound.

Another thing Ive seen people doing is applying nailpolish on cuts and wounds. And Ive done it myself. It's a standard remedy our village.

Don't know the chemistry/boilogy behind it, but it def works.

Does anyone remember putting soil on the wounds during their school time?

[Warwithwheels]

Looks like we can soon do away with the in car first aid kits and store a 5 liter Jerry can of any of these oils. A one stop solution for both man and the machine

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Had a deep cut on my thumb at a mechanics garage, it was pouring blood incessantly. The brake fluid reserviour cap was unscrewed and my thumb was dunked in. The bleeding stopped almost immediately!

Thanks for sharing this.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

@SS - Do also share in detail what you had mentioned about the DOT 5.1 fluids containing harmful silicone...

DOT 5, not DOT 5.1, is silicone based. Silicone isn't really seriously toxic/harmful if swallowed or inhaled in minute quantities.

DOT 5 is a new standard of brake fluid, incompatible with DOT 2/3/4/5.1, all of the latter being essentially glycol based (containing glycols & ethers - this makes them hygroscopic). DOT 5 on the other hand is not hygroscopic, and is immiscible with the glycol-based brake oils, because it is silicone based (essentially dimethylpolysiloxane [DMPS] and dioctyl sebacate [DOS]).

Although DMPS/DOS is not really as toxic as glycol/ether (DMPS used in some food substances too, DOS is used in plastic products that may also be food-grade), having a silicone-based brake oil means the styptic properties of brake oil that our mechanics know about, won't be there! I'm not sure how they'll react when DOT 5 brake oil doesn't stop the bleeding! (Something like "Yeh bekaar oil hai" maybe?) That's what I meant when I mentioned to you that the fun will begin once India adopts DOT 5/5.1 standards!

[rajeev k]

Old time mechanics used to do another similar thing. When their hand or fingers get cut while working on automobiles the first and final workshop aid is to apply shellac.
Shellac is a compound which is applied on gaskets to prevent sticking.

[dr.abhijeet]

This is a BAD idea, putting oil based non sterile substances in wound. Hemostasis( stop bleeding ) can be very effectively achieved by applying firm pressure for a reasonable period of time depending on where the bleeding is from.
Putting non sterile material on broken skin , which is biggest barrier to foreign substances is a bad idea due to multiple reasons, spores from quite dangerous bacteria leading to a few of most feared conditions including tetanus , gas gangrene, necrotizing fascitis can occur, and the oil itself may cause a myriad of problems.
Please do not do this .

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

This is a BAD idea, putting oil based non sterile substances in wound. Hemostasis( stop bleeding ) can be very effectively achieved by applying firm pressure for a reasonable period of time depending on where the bleeding is from.
Putting non sterile material on broken skin , which is biggest barrier to foreign substances is a bad idea due to multiple reasons, spores from quite dangerous bacteria leading to a few of most feared conditions including tetanus , gas gangrene, necrotizing fascitis can occur, and the oil itself may cause a myriad of problems.
Please do not do this .

But can bacteria survive in glycol / ether based oil ? They do need a culture medium to survive and multiply. I think part of the reason why this thing works is sterile nature of the oils.

[dr.abhijeet]

Originally Posted by amitk26

But can bacteria survive in glycol / ether based oil ? They do need a culture medium to survive and multiply. I think part of the reason why this thing works is sterile nature of the oils.

Well no, culture medium is needed if you need heavy growth. Bacteria are present everywhere colonizing most of the surfaces if it has not been sterilized. Oil does not have any anti bacterial any antiseptic properties is certainly not sterile. The reason why infection does not happen everytime someone does this because of our robust immunity and the fact that most background bacteria are not deadly , but I am concerned about that one time when something bad is picked up.

[svsantosh]

Was googling around for a answer to my moday blues and ended up here! Small world!!

Yesterday, while working on a DIY project, I had a deep cut in my index finger at my mechanics place (dont we all!!) and whole hanky was soaked in blood and mech (who incidently was bleeding my cars brakes) poured some of it on my wound and tied it up with some clean' cotton waste! Stopped in a minute or 2!!

Later went to family doc for a TT shot and she nearly shot me! blasted me for all Dr.Abhijeet ^ said above and warned me about why brake oil is 'loved' by mechs all over the country (stops bleeding and nothing else) and she mentioned if platelets dont do their job in clotting the risk of infection runs much higher!

Later she had her fun by scraping the cut with all spirits and tincher etc etc! Ouch!